USA armed forces member killed in Afghanistan insider attack

A NATO helicopter flies over the Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan November 3, 2018.REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

In Summary

The attack is the latest in a series of “green-on-blue” attacks in which members of the Afghan forces have killed U.S. or coalition advisers this year and follows the death of a Czech soldier in the western province of Herat last month.

It said the incident was being investigated and the wounded service member was in a stable condition, but did not release the identity of the service member who had been killed.

A member of the USA armed forces was killed and another was wounded on Saturday in an apparent insider attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said.

The attack is the latest in a series of “green-on-blue” attacks in which members of the Afghan forces have killed U.S. or coalition advisers this year and follows the death of a Czech soldier in the western province of Herat last month.

“Initial reports indicate the attacker was a member of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Initial reports also indicate the attacker was immediately killed by other Afghan Forces,” the NATO-led mission said in a statement.

It said the incident was being investigated and the wounded service member was in a stable condition, but did not release the identity of the service member who had been killed.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said in September that training and vetting of Afghan forces was being stepped up to minimize insider attacks and some training and advisory operations have been scaled back while security is assessed.

Last month, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Scott Miller, escaped unhurt when the bodyguard of a provincial governor opened fire on a group of U.S. and Afghan officials in the southern province of Kandahar.